I started hunting in 2007 as a young adult. There was no hunting tradition in my family before me. As I've become more experienced as a hunter, I've learned the importance of preparation. I now have my own small property for bow hunting whitetail. I also belong to a waterfowl hunting club that has its own location. I've learned almost everything I know about hunting from the kindness of other hunters who have shared their wisdom. ...and I watch a lot of youtube.
I've really come to enjoy a youtube channel called Whitetail Habitat Solutions. He's got so much excellent info, including a monthly series/list of "deer chores", but it's sort of targeted for more northern latitudes and for people who have much larger properties and much larger budgets. He's a pro game manager...hunting is my hobby. I'd love to learn about some more mid-Atlantic specific approaches to hunting preparation.
Those of you who hunt in MD/VA/DE/WV/PA -- I'd love to hear what you do in the summer to prepare for the upcoming season.
How do you prepare your private land hunting location?
How do you scout public land?
How do you sharpen your hunting skills?
Do you make sure to purchase certain equipment in the off season?
My answers:
Land Prep:
I spent three weekends in March clearing paths and cutting down standing dead trees on my land to make my hunting areas better habitat for deer. For example, I hinged some trees to provide better forage and cover, and laid the dead wood down so that deer are directed towards my stand locations. I also got a ph/mineral content test on my soil and started augmenting it so that better forage will grow. It made a huge difference in terms of grass growth and thickness. Next year I plan to add more minerals (I only did lime this year just to get started) and put in a legit food plot. I also put out mineral/salt blocks and am avoiding going into the stand areas at all. I put in some licking branch setups to hopefully make bucks want to hang around more often. Now that all the leaves have come out, I am planning to do one more trimming of branches to clear shooting lanes -- I'll probably do this in mid-August when everything is at peak growth.
In April, we rebuilt a duck blind that was damaged by a storm and are investigating planting wild celery around the area.
Scouting:
After my last hunt on public land in the VA deer firearms season, I stayed in the forest an extra night to scout new locations and found a few new options that I'll try with my climber stand. At a WMA in Maryland, I did something similar in February and was able to find a large bedding location.
Skills Development:
My goal is to shoot archery once per week at home, including practicing from a climber stand (not my actual hunting spot) and getting a 3D target. My goal is to shoot trap/skeet once per month from July through September. I miss way too many ducks. My dog recently died but normally I'd be out training with her every Sunday morning. I maintain an exercise program throughout the year.
Equipment Acquisition:
I'm going to install a second permanent two-man tree stand in mid-August. This may bee too late in the year...but this is when I can do it. I'm planning to make a large order of steel ammo since I'm down to almost zero duck loads after two seasons of pandemic shortages, so I need to act fast on that. I'm also going to buy four more trail cameras to bring it to 8 total.
What am I forgetting? What do you do? What's your favorite part about preparing for the season? I love the anticipation almost as much as the hunts.
Thanks in advance for anything you're willing to share about how you prepare for the hunting seasons.
I've really come to enjoy a youtube channel called Whitetail Habitat Solutions. He's got so much excellent info, including a monthly series/list of "deer chores", but it's sort of targeted for more northern latitudes and for people who have much larger properties and much larger budgets. He's a pro game manager...hunting is my hobby. I'd love to learn about some more mid-Atlantic specific approaches to hunting preparation.
Those of you who hunt in MD/VA/DE/WV/PA -- I'd love to hear what you do in the summer to prepare for the upcoming season.
How do you prepare your private land hunting location?
How do you scout public land?
How do you sharpen your hunting skills?
Do you make sure to purchase certain equipment in the off season?
My answers:
Land Prep:
I spent three weekends in March clearing paths and cutting down standing dead trees on my land to make my hunting areas better habitat for deer. For example, I hinged some trees to provide better forage and cover, and laid the dead wood down so that deer are directed towards my stand locations. I also got a ph/mineral content test on my soil and started augmenting it so that better forage will grow. It made a huge difference in terms of grass growth and thickness. Next year I plan to add more minerals (I only did lime this year just to get started) and put in a legit food plot. I also put out mineral/salt blocks and am avoiding going into the stand areas at all. I put in some licking branch setups to hopefully make bucks want to hang around more often. Now that all the leaves have come out, I am planning to do one more trimming of branches to clear shooting lanes -- I'll probably do this in mid-August when everything is at peak growth.
In April, we rebuilt a duck blind that was damaged by a storm and are investigating planting wild celery around the area.
Scouting:
After my last hunt on public land in the VA deer firearms season, I stayed in the forest an extra night to scout new locations and found a few new options that I'll try with my climber stand. At a WMA in Maryland, I did something similar in February and was able to find a large bedding location.
Skills Development:
My goal is to shoot archery once per week at home, including practicing from a climber stand (not my actual hunting spot) and getting a 3D target. My goal is to shoot trap/skeet once per month from July through September. I miss way too many ducks. My dog recently died but normally I'd be out training with her every Sunday morning. I maintain an exercise program throughout the year.
Equipment Acquisition:
I'm going to install a second permanent two-man tree stand in mid-August. This may bee too late in the year...but this is when I can do it. I'm planning to make a large order of steel ammo since I'm down to almost zero duck loads after two seasons of pandemic shortages, so I need to act fast on that. I'm also going to buy four more trail cameras to bring it to 8 total.
What am I forgetting? What do you do? What's your favorite part about preparing for the season? I love the anticipation almost as much as the hunts.
Thanks in advance for anything you're willing to share about how you prepare for the hunting seasons.